I'll Watch Over You
by fandom-mental-hospital
Summary: Dean Winchester is put into a mental hospital and Castiel is his roommate. Together they will help each other through good and bad times and discover new things about themselves and each other.
1. Chapter 1

"I just don't understand, Dean" The voice sighed through the phone. "I should have realized what was going on from the beginning."

"I'm sorry." Dean said, for maybe the millionth time. But even he knew that no amount of "sorry's" could fix what had happened. It was his fault, it was all his fault. So why did his mother blame herself?

He heard a man behind him step over and tell him he had a minute left to speak. Dean nodded but didn't look at the man, he just continued to fiddle with the phone cord and took a deep breath.

"Mom, I've got to go, time's almost up."

Soon he heard the unmistakable sound of his mother choking back tears.

"I never thought…" A sob. "That I would have a time limit on how long I'd be able to talk to my son…" Silence. "I miss you honey. And…" A pause. "Sammy misses you too."

It was Dean's turn to fight back tears. Why did she have to bring up Sam? A tap on the shoulder from the man told him his time was up though, so Dean swallowed the lump forming in his throat and spoke softly into the phone.

"I really have to go now Mom."

"Oh honey, please, you have to know, I-"

"I know Mom." He cut her off. "I love you too. Tell Sammy I said hi."

He could hear her start to talk again but he knew it was time. Before she could say anymore, he hung up the phone.

**. . .**

It was a long walk through the halls. One guard in front, one behind him, was he really considered so dangerous that he needed escorts? _Relax Dean_, he told himself, _it's just another thing you'll get used to_. Yep. Another thing to get used to, another thing he'd learn to consider normal, another change. Just like the fact that everything was white. Or that he was basically in a prison. Or that he no longer had any privacy.

Finally, the man in front of him stopped and opened a door. He turned and held it open so Dean could enter.

The room was small and dark. There were two beds, a nightstand, and a closet. In the corner there was another door that opened to a tiny bathroom. It reminded Dean of an airplane bathroom.

"Well boy, this is your room. You'll find clothes in the closet and toiletries in the bathroom. Someone will stop by to give you a run-down on how it works here. You can go ahead and settle in, check out the room. Your roommate should be back at some point."

And just like that, his escorts were gone. Dean let out the breath he'd been holding and turned back to survey the room again. The bed to his left had clearly already been taken, so Dean sat on the one on the right. It wasn't as uncomfortable as he thought it would be, but it wasn't like his bed at home. Suddenly Dean found himself feeling very homesick.

He had nearly drifted off to sleep when the door suddenly opened. Dean opened his eyes and sat up quickly. There in the doorway, a boy stood. He stared at Dean for a moment, then looked away without a second thought and went into the bathroom.

Dean stared at where the other boy had been a second ago. All of a sudden, he realized that his heart was beating very hard. But he didn't have the same feeling that he usually had when he got worked up. This was different.

Dean couldn't shake the image of the other boy. Dean hadn't noticed much about him; mostly he had just seen his eyes. They had stared at Dean without blinking, and they were so blue. Dean didn't know how to describe them.

The other boy was still in the bathroom when a knock came at the door. Dean hesitated. Was he supposed to answer it? He decided he should when the knocking came again.

Upon opening the door, Dean found himself face to face with a shorter brown haired woman. She wore blue scrubs and a smirk on her face. He looked at her quizzically; what did she want?

"You the new guy?" She asked him. He nodded with a slight frown on his face. "Great, follow me."

Dean glanced behind him to see if there was anyone else she could be talking to, but of course there was no one. He turned back around and saw her looking at him expectantly.

"You coming?"

And with that, Dean followed her out the door and down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

"So as you probably figured out, that was your bedroom. That's where you'll be every night. Because of your schedule you probably won't be spending much time in there. If you want a quiet place to hang out we have a large common room with couches and books. Otherwise, your room is just for sleeping, changing clothes, and going to the bathroom. Your room is located in section H of the bedrooms, so remember that if you get lost. Just find one of us wearing blue scrubs and ask them where that is."

"Right down this hall you can find the public bathrooms and the showers. You have a time slot every day so you can use the showers. Showers are limited to be about 5 minutes long and there will be someone who checks them every 5 minutes to make sure you aren't breaking any rules or taking too long or something."

"If you come this way, you'll find the dining hall. This is where you'll have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You are not allowed to miss meals unless you are specially dismissed, which is a very rare occurrence. The food here, in my opinion, really isn't that bad, but if you don't like it at first, don't worry. You'll get used to it. This door leads to the common room I told you about. There are lots of books, games and other things to do in there."

"And then right down this hallway is where you'll find the counseling offices and where you'll have both group and private therapy. If I remember correctly your counselor is Ellen Harvelle. She's really nice."

The woman finally stopped talking and Dean felt surprisingly relieved. He had to listen very carefully as she talked so he wouldn't miss anything. It was a lot to take in. He started going over everything again in his head while he followed her up a set of stairs. But suddenly he realized she wasn't finished.

"Finally, this floor is the hospital area. If you get a prescription this is where you'll come for pills. If you get sick or hurt, this is where you'll come. It's pretty straightforward."

She stopped walking, turned around, and smiled at him.

"You getting all of this kid?" Dean looked unsure but nodded anyways. "Any questions?"

"Umm…yeah, who are you?" Dean frowned and stared at her. The woman laughed out loud.

"Oh wow, sorry, completely forgot, where are my manners? I'm Meg. I'm one of the nurses here." She stuck out her hand, which Dean shook.

"All right newbie," She said. "What do you say we get you back to your room?"

After several twists and turns and long hallways, they reached the same door that Meg had come to find him. Meg opened the door and let him pass before her. When Dean walked into the room, he was caught off guard by the boy who'd come in earlier. He sat cross-legged on the bed on the left and was staring down with a concentrated expression on his face.

"Oh, right! Dean, this is your roommate, Castiel." Meg smiled at the boy, but he didn't look back at her. Dean suddenly felt wary and unsure of himself. He didn't know whether to say something or to stay quiet. Thankfully, Meg saved him before it became too awkward.

"Dinner starts in about five minutes, so Dean why don't you change into these and Castiel will show you back to the dining hall. I'll see you boys later." Meg pulled a white t-shirt and white pants out of the closet and handed them to Dean. Great. Even more white.

Dean stood still for a minute after she left, then realized he should change and get ready for dinner. He decided to change in the bathroom to avoid any weird situations. When he came out in his new clothes, Castiel still hadn't moved.

"Umm…" _Could this get more awkward?_ Dean thought. "Castiel? Should we go to dinner now then?"

Just like that, it was like Castiel had just noticed Dean's presence. He looked up with wide eyes and fixed him with an unsettling gaze. Then he looked away and got off his bed.

"Yes, of course. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

When Dean first set foot in the dining hall, the first thing he noticed was the smell. Meg had told him that the food wasn't that bad, but from the aroma coming from the kitchen, Dean wasn't so sure. He followed Castiel's lead and got into line to be served. The whole room reminded Dean of his old school cafeteria, except everyone was wearing the same thing.

Castiel was served before him and he didn't waste any time leaving Dean behind. _Of course_, Dean thought while he waited for the woman serving food to fill his plate, _he's probably got his own friends and doesn't feel like sticking around with the new guy._

Dean turned around fully expecting Castiel to be sitting and talking with one of the groups of people at other tables. Instead he spotted the other boy sitting at a table against the wall, alone. He was barely touching his food as he stared at nothing. Dean shook his head. Would it be rude to interrupt his thoughts by sitting at his table?

Dean was about to turn to an empty table near where he stood and sit down when he was knocked into from behind. He stumbled and had to be careful not to have his food go flying to the floor.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there." Dean turned around and discovered that the person who'd walked into him was a red haired girl wearing glasses. Behind her there was another girl who looked a little older than him and a boy. All three were watching him closely.

"Sorry again. Hey, you don't look familiar…are you new?" Dean nodded at the redhead. "Well nice to meet you! I'm Charlie, and this is Ruby and Kevin." She indicated the two behind her and smiled up at him happily.

"Uh, hi. I'm Dean." He spoke hesitantly. This girl Charlie was so energetic and definitely not the kind of person he'd expect to find here.

"You look a little lost, do you want to sit with us?" The girl Charlie had called Ruby asked him. He thought about it for a minute, figured that it was better than sitting alone, and nodded. He followed them to a table a few feet away and took a seat next to the boy Kevin.

"So, Dean…how'd you get here?" Charlie leaned on the table and stared at him.

"Oh, I…uh…"

"Leave him alone Charlie. Not everyone likes to share." Ruby gave Charlie a look that silenced her.

After that, the table continued in constant chatter. Dean soon learned that Charlie and Ruby were roommates and Kevin and Ruby both had Ellen as their counselor as well; Charlie had a man named Chuck. They told him about how awkward group was and how hard it was to get in and out of the shower in five minutes. Dean listened and laughed along occasionally. By now he was glad he hadn't sat alone. He liked hearing Charlie, Ruby, and Kevin's respective stories. Dean found himself hoping that this meant he'd found some people who he could rely on to make this place less boring.

Suddenly Dean felt uncomfortable. He looked up and quickly found the reason. Castiel was watching him.


	4. Chapter 4

When dinner was over, Dean parted ways with his newfound friends and strolled down the hall. The others around him all seemed to know exactly where they were going. Dean had thought at first that this was all a bit like high school and he was mostly right. There were lots of differences too though. Dean found that no one tended to stand around in the hall and chat, and no one carried around books or notes.

Dean tried his best to remember the way to his room, or at least the H section, but soon realized he was hopelessly lost. He remembered what Meg had said about asking one of the nurses or guards, and he was about to do so when, surprisingly, Castiel walked around the corner and nearly ran into Dean.

"Oh! Jeez, sorry, I uh…" Dean was so surprised to see his roommate-especially in what was basically a deserted hallway in the middle of nowhere-that he didn't know what to say. Castiel searched Dean's face and squinted his eyes at him.

"You're lost." He said. Dean was about to protest but quickly gave up and nodded. "I will show you back to the room."

"Oh, uh, no it's okay. You don't have to, I'm sure you have better things to do. I can find my way back." Dean said.

"Dean Winchester, are you aware that you are currently wandering around in a hallway at the back of the B section? I'm sure given enough time you'd make it out or at least be discovered by one of the staff, but it seems much simpler to just come with me, don't you think?" Dean was now more than a little surprised, not only because Castiel knew his name despite ever being told, but also because that was the most he had ever heard Castiel say.

Dean was so shocked he almost didn't realize that Castiel had started to walk away. He blinked a couple of times then jogged to catch up with him.

**. . .**

When they arrived back at the room, Castiel went straight for his bed. He sat down with his legs over the side and stared at the ground. Dean didn't like the silence between them; he figured if they were going to be roommates they should at least get along okay, so he spoke up.

"So…Cas. What were you even doing in that hallway?"

"I saw you go that way. I came to get you." Castiel spoke quickly.

"Wait, what do you mean you came to get me? I was fine on my own, I didn't need 'saving' or whatever." Dean suddenly felt very defensive, but he tried to swallow the feeling; this never ended well. He took a deep breath but continued to glower at Castiel. The other boy looked up at him and cocked his head to the side slightly.

"What's the matter? You think you could've gotten back to the room before lock-up? I was helping you."

"I would've asked for help. In fact that's what I was about to do when you decided to show up and patronize me like some lost child!" Dean clenched his hands into fists. "And what does that even mean? Lock-up?"

"Dean…they lock the doors at night, you would've gotten in trouble for not being in your room. I suppose since you don't know all the rules they would have let it pass but it was surely less trouble to have help before you had to explain anything and…" Castiel was interrupted when Dean realized what he'd said about locking the doors. He jumped up and went to the door to find that it was in fact locked. Dean felt a shiver go down his spine. He didn't like this, being locked up, locked in. He desperately tried the handle a few more times then finally gave up and slumped against the door. The metal was cold against his forehead. He felt defeated.

"Dean?" Cas's voice was gentle and he spoke tentatively. "Dean, are you alright?"

He sounded so worried; his voice was soft and warm. Dean was breathing hard now, his forehead still pressed against the door. Suddenly, he felt Castiel's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine Cas. I'm okay." He said.

"Dean-"

"We should go to bed." Dean turned around and walked over to his bed. He could still feel Cas's eyes on him. "Could you get the light?"

Dean was so tired. He closed his eyes and lay still, concentrating on his breathing. The lights flicked off and he heard Castiel shuffle to his own bed. The room was silent, but Dean heard one more thing before he drifted off to sleep.

"Goodnight, Dean."


End file.
